7 U.S.C. § 499f — Complaints, written notifications, and investigations

(a) Reparation complaints. (1) Petition; process. Anyone who believes a commission merchant, dealer, or broker violated section 499b of this title can, within nine months of when the claim arose, petition the Secretary. The petition must briefly state the facts. If the Secretary thinks the facts warrant action, the Secretary forwards a copy of the complaint to the merchant, dealer, or broker, who must satisfy or answer it in writing within a time the Secretary sets. (2) Filing and handling fees. A petition must include a $60 filing fee. If the Secretary decides the facts warrant further action, the petitioner must also pay a $300 handling fee. The Secretary can't forward the complaint until this handling fee is paid. These fees go into the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act Fund. The Secretary can change these fees through rulemaking under section 553 of title 5. (b) Disciplinary violations. A state or territorial officer or agency with authority over commission merchants, dealers, or brokers — or any other interested person (except an employee of the Department of Agriculture office running this chapter) — can file a written notification of an alleged violation, following the Secretary's rules. Official U.S. or state/territorial certificates, and trust notices filed under section 499e of this title, also count as written notification for starting an investigation under subsection (c). The identity of anyone who files such a notification is kept confidential, and is specifically exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. (c) Investigation of complaints and notifications. (1) Commencing or expanding an investigation. If the Secretary sees reasonable grounds, the Secretary investigates a complaint under subsection (a) or a notification under subsection (b). If the investigation turns up other violations beyond what was originally alleged, the Secretary can expand the investigation to cover them. (2) Issuance of complaint by Secretary; process. If an investigation supports the existence of violations, the Secretary may issue a formal complaint, served by registered or certified mail (or otherwise), and give the person a chance for a hearing before one of the Secretary's examiners, wherever the person does business. But if the claimed damages are $30,000 or less, no hearing is required — proof can instead be submitted as depositions or verified written statements. (3) Special notification requirements for certain investigations. When the Secretary starts or expands an investigation based on a subsection (b) notification, the Secretary must promptly tell the person under investigation about it and what's being investigated. Within 180 days of that first notice, the Secretary must update them on the investigation's status — whether a complaint will be issued, the investigation will end, or it will continue or expand. The Secretary must give more status updates if asked, and must promptly notify the person when the investigation ends. (d) Decisions on complaints. After a hearing has been held or waived for complaints over $30,000, or without one for smaller complaints as described above, the Secretary decides whether the merchant, dealer, or broker violated section 499b of this title. (e) Bond required for certain complaints. If a complaint comes from someone who doesn't live in the United States — or from a U.S. resident who was assigned a nonresident's claim — the complainant must, before any formal action, post a bond for double the claim amount. This bond covers costs, including a reasonable attorney's fee for the other side if they win, and any reparation award the Secretary might issue against the complainant on a counterclaim. But the Secretary can waive this bond if the complainant lives in a country that lets U.S. residents file complaints there without posting a bond.